A/N: Hope you all are continuing to be safe and sound. Still dealing with some job hunting and how things are rolling back given the rise in cases. Stressful time for all, but we can make it through.
As I said, I will try to update regularly as best as I can.
AEGON X
Aegon paced back and forth as he waited for Jaenyx to fly back from the riverlands. He said that Lord Blackwood informed that he received a "sensitive herald" which required his attention as the master of whisperers. Naturally, Jaenyx had to go there on Cloudwynd's back with haste, leaving Aegon alone to deal with the Rhaedar Tarareon, Aevor Rahitheon, Torrhen Stark, and the rest of the northern lords in the Reach.
After securing Stonebridge and constructing simple but adequate fortifications to protect their vital choke point, their next target was Longtable, seat of House Merryweather. Given their most recent loss in manpower in the last battle, everyone believed that taking the castle would quite easy to accomplish. And due to its location at the convergence of two tributaries of the Mander, control of that castle would effectively grant them control over much of the northern Reach.
Recently, Aegon, Torrhen, and the other commanders were informed of Orys' great victory over Edmund Gardener and that the stormlands can now be secured while freeing up many stormlanders to push on the offensive on the Reach. While Orys returned to Storm's End to oversee the preparations of the fleet there and thus begin the voyage around Dorne towards the shores of the southern Reach to encircle them, their father and his mother would lead the stormlanders to recapture their parts of the Dornish Marches and advance back through the Red Mountains to strike at the Reach. With their own advance from the north, the Reachmen would be hard pressed to cope with multiple attacks given their reduced manpower.
He also said that kepa and muña are more expressive with each other because of their dragons. That's something that I'd like to see, Aegon mused.
But Aegon was cautious to proceed forward. First, he knew that the Gardeners would also realize the fact regarding Longtable and would act accordingly to ensure that castle was properly garrisoned and reinforced. There was no way that Aegon could lead the troops to quickly seize both Longtable and Cider Hall, as the latter castle was close enough to be within easy reach of the forces of Highgarden and there must've been thousands of Gardener bannermen already there. In any campaign, whoever fought in the defensive on their home ground usually had the initial advantage, as the troops were fighting for their homes and would not budge easily.
Second, even if Orys managed to sail around Dorne and if his parents led the stormlords successfully through the Red Mountains, they still had to contend a sizable force that Mern Gardener could scrounge up the houses that had not yet committed their full strength, most notably House Hightower. And Orys would have to contend with the combined strength of House Redwyne and House Hoare, with their fleets easily outnumber Orys'. Even though the ironborn and the sailors of the Arbor might not be cooperative with each other given their histories, that didn't diminish the strength that their numbers gave. Might need to have either myself or kepa go fly in support of him.
But most importantly, he had heard about what happened to Meraxes in the Vale. To say that it was troubling that their enemies had a means to hurt the dragons would not be an adequate way to describe it, especially since Aegon's first worry was whether Rhaenys was hurt and thus their child. Seeing the message written in her own hand assured him, but the new information made Aegon think that they had to rethink their strategy, as the Arryns were certainly not the only ones who had whatever hurt Meraxes.
Aegon and Jaenyx called Torrhen, Konno, and Aevor in private, where they revealed what had happened in the Vale. Even though Brandon and Rhaenys were able to get one house on their side without a fight, the danger posed by the weapon that harmed Meraxes was of greater precedence.
"I thought dragons are not supposed to get hurt," Torrhen was incredulous.
"They're powerful creatures, yes, but they're not indestructible, the Doom certainly being proof of that," Jaenyx said. "Like any other with flesh and blood, they can die from either natural causes or from severe wounds. It's just incredibly difficult to even injure them, as the Ghiscari and the Rhoynish learned the hard way."
"But we all agree that the enemy found a way to counter our dragons. We know that it's a weapon that can shoot bolts the size of trees and has immense power, as no projectile weapon we know of can even pierce the scales of a dragon," Aegon stated. "The questions we have to answer now are whether Loren Lannister and Mern Gardener also have those weapons, how many are there, and what are their tactics surrounding these instruments."
"Agreed," Jaenyx nodded. "As soon as Rhaenys sent the message to us, I reached out to my agents between the lines, those who can move between us and the enemy with ease. They should be able to bring back some word on what we're facing."
"That's not very comforting, Prince Jaenyx, that you know the sorts that have no clear allegiances. They can turn on us and feed us misinformation," Torrhen pointed out.
"It's a possibility," Jaenyx confessed. "But I also made sure to teach them the consequences of double-crossing me and because we have dragons, any attempt to lie to us or mislead us will be deal with accordingly."
"I'm curious, Jae," Aegon turned to his goodbrother. "What sorts of people have you been overseeing on our behalf?"
"As I said, anyone who can move between the lines with ease. That includes traders and whores, those who can get close enough to the enemy and learn things shared in confidence. I also have Ragaemor working alongside Lord Blackwood in scouting along the lines, who I then use to submit reports. If the reports and the words obtained from my agents align with each other, that's when I reveal what I have learned."
"That sounds like a very sensible method, Prince Jaenyx, but has it worked before?" Torrhen might have been King in the North and now the Warden, but he was not the type to engage in subterfuge.
"Ask Lord Konno," Jaenyx pointed to his teacher. "Whatever I learned came from him, who had decades to hone his practices."
"We… also… sent… my… men… to… scout," Konno was still learning the common tongue, but he could be understood.
"So, you see, you have nothing to worry about, regarding how I get my information. Give it time, and we'll have a clearer picture on what we're facing," Jaenyx guaranteed.
Until they had a better idea on the weapon used by their enemy, all that Aegon and the others could do was to continue the preparations against Longtable. The war would continue regardless of what setbacks occurred and this was not the first time that the dragons experienced it.
After a few days, Aegon heard Cloudwynd's roar in the distance. Scrambling out of his tent, he saw Jaenyx land his dragon near the camp while helping a woman off of her. Unexpectedly, Jaenyx was trying to calm the woman, who looked frightened. What's going on?
"Who is she?" Aegon asked.
"One of my agents, and someone I had used before at the Stoney Sept," Jaenyx explained.
"Why is she?" Aegon was perplexed as to what was going on.
"I think we better take this into our tent. She has information that can probably affect the outcome of the war."
Aegon looked again at the woman, who dressed similarly to the women at the brothel in Dragonstone. Uncomfortable with bringing a whore into his tent, he trusted Jaenyx's words and followed him inside.
Jaenyx sat the whore down, whereas he and Aegon sat across her. Upon closely seeing Aegon's crown, she stood up to curtsey, but Jaenyx gestured for her to retake her seat.
"Your Grace," the woman gulped.
"Who are you?" Aegon crossed his arms.
"Sabitha, Your Grace. I work at the Peach in the Stoney Sept," the woman answered.
Why does that sound familiar? "How do you know my brother, Prince Jaenyx?"
"He and Queen Rhaenys hired me to arrange a meeting with Broden Tully when they first came to our town."
Aegon was caught off-guard. "Broden Tully? That was you?" The woman nodded, causing him to look at Jaenyx.
"She's been pretty useful to us so far. It's mostly because of her that we still have eyes in the riverlands south of Riverrun," Jaenyx explained.
"What was so important about her that you needed to bring a whore all the way out here, in the Reach?" Aegon was trying hard not to be skeptical, but not because of anything that Jaenyx did.
"Your Grace, I had to brave thousands of enemy troops and soldiers from your side in order to bring what I had to you. It took much effort on my part to persuade Lord Colren to inform Prince Jaenyx. I will accept it if you don't deem my sacrifices as worthy enough of merit, but I beseech you to hear me out," Sabitha answered.
Aegon was a bit baffled on how she responded, as he didn't mean to imply any prejudice against her. "No, no. Please don't misunderstand me. It's just that the riverlands have been relatively quiet compared to her and in the Vale, given that the enemy shifted their focus elsewhere."
"Egg, this information is time-sensitive. Perhaps it'll be best of us all to hear what Sabitha has to say?" Jaenyx posed. Aegon exhaled before bobbing his head. "All right. Tell him what you've told me."
"It was just another day of business. I was seeing to many regulars and they all told me what was happening throughout these lands. They say that the dragons are winning every battle and their greatest desire is to go home and tend to their fields because they've been fighting longer than they had wished," Sabitha began.
Morale is slipping, Aegon noted. "Aren't the troops committed to the Faith's war against us, the Valyrians?"
"Many follow the Seven and the septs in their armies are trying to encourage to stay the course, to act as the Father, the Warrior, and the Smith would in these times."
Aegon groaned as he rubbed his face. "And?"
"After the day's work was completed, I wrote down what I had learned and went to where I would bury the parchment in the ground for Lord Tarareon to pick up and send to Prince Jaenyx. However, after I buried it, I was grabbed by men wearing the red lion."
Red lion… the Reynes? Aegon's jaw dropped as he turned to Jaenyx, who wasn't as worried. "Keep going," his goodbrother urged.
"They took me to a tent near Riverrun and sat me across Lord Weslar Reyne. He told me that he had studied about how Lord Tully and Lord Blackwood met Prince Jaenyx and Queen Rhaenys at the Stoney Sept and had men relax at the Peach because he knew where Broden Tully was ensnared."
Jaenyx would not be this calm, unless there is more to this than I am thinking of.
"Of course, I was afraid that he was going to kill me or worse. But he just poured some wine and fed me some meat and said that he needed me to send a message."
"What kind of message?" Aegon was caught off-guard.
"He said, 'If you want a way to win this war, I need to speak to Prince Jaenyx and King Aegon at the Blackwater Rush in person. They should not bring any of their guards or their troops and I shall not bring any of my own, for the fewer people that know of this, the higher the chances that our exchange can be kept a secret.'"
That is very interesting. Aegon knew that House Reyne was the most powerful house sworn to the King of the Rock, with much of their wealth and power derived from similar sources as the Lannisters. Even though they were at odds with each other ever since a Lannister became a king, to trust Weslar Reyne based on his message as relayed by Sabitha would've been foolhardy.
"Did you give you any reasons why he wanted you to say this to us?"
"I don't know, Your Grace, but he gave me that look, the kind of look that usually came whenever someone insulted one's family. Whatever his reasons for sending me here, something must've happened between him and King Loren," Sabitha shrugged.
"You're pretty perceptive, for someone who works in a brothel," Aegon noted.
"One of the benefits of relieving the stresses of men is that I become privy to their secrets, and I learned that secrets can be quite valuable under certain conditions," Sabitha said.
"Spoken like a true lady," Jaenyx nodded. "You must be congratulated for bringing this message to us. Find the attendant and tell him that you are to be fed and quartered tonight."
"Thank you, Your Grace," Sabitha curtsied to them both before one of the guards led her away.
As for Aegon, he was left to question his goodbrother on what had just occurred. "She's pretty good, has a good understanding of others. How are you compensating her?"
"I told her that once this war is over, I will find her a good husband and arrange for the two of them to have some land," Jaenyx replied. "Seems only fair."
"I support that," Aegon assented. "But do you trust Sabitha's words regarding Lord Reyne?"
"She certainly hasn't done anything to prove my trust in her wrong, although I understand the hesitation," Jaenyx rose from his seat. "Why would Loren Lannister's most powerful bannerman risk so much as to speak with us? He might have demonstrated some curious behavior when we first saw him, but that served as no indication for this."
"At the same time, there would be no harm in checking it out. Any ambush or other attempt to trap us can be met with dragons," Aegon finished. Looks like he's already made up his mind.
"Egg, we might be winning battles, but as we both know, that's not enough to win a war. And the longer we fight, the more exhausted we become and the further we stray away from our goals. If there is a chance to accelerate an end to this war even by a little bit, it's worth a try."
But Aegon saw something else besides rationality. Looking closer in his eyes, he saw the dark circles that came with him from Dragonstone, a clear sign of his fatigue. Jae is going to be a father and he's been fighting his whole life. He might be good at fighting, but he doesn't want to keep doing it.
Aegon had to admit that he was feeling tired also. They had been fighting nonstop for nearly a year and the weight of the responsibilities of being king and a commander in the field were starting to become heavy for him. Like Jaenyx, all he wanted to do was rest and spend some time with Rhaenys and their coming babe.
However, Jaenyx had been fighting for as long as he could remember, and he could only endure conflict for so long before the limits were reached. And just like what Jaenyx did for him, Aegon decided to reassure him by placing his hand on his shoulder.
"You all right?"
"I'm fine," Jaenyx shrugged, but saw that there was no lying to his goodbrother. "I'm just tired, Egg."
"I know. So am I. But we still got things to do, and I guess we have to fly out to the Blackwater Rush. We might have to ask Lord Konno and Torrhen to watch over the camp until we come back," Aegon decided to go along with Jaenyx's suggestion.
"You will trust Lord Reyne to not kill you?"
"I'm not trusting him, Jae. I'm trusting you, since you would never do something like this without good reason. And that's what we should be doing for each other," Aegon patted his shoulder.
Jaenyx smiled, grateful for Aegon's words, and hugged him. "Thank you, Egg."
"Not at all," Aegon returned the embrace.
Later that night, Aegon and Jaenyx flew off on their dragons, promising to Konno and Torrhen that they would back within two days maximum. From their encampment just south of Stonebridge, it didn't take long for the two riders to reach the southern banks of the Blackwater Rush, near the place where they broke the strength of the ironborn before burning Harrenhal. It was the first time that Aegon had fought alongside Jaenyx in a pitched battle and showed him just how capable his goodbrother really was.
The lands south of the Gods Eye was technically still under their control, but ever since Raventree Hall was retaken, all of the lands south of Riverrun were in flux. However, the two riders had nothing to worry about since they were protected by both Balerion and Cloudwynd, and they could rely on each other to fight their way out should things go bad.
Unexpectedly, the two noticed a smoke plume rising from the flat banks of the Blackwater Rush next to the Gods Eye. Circling closer, they saw the sigil of the red lion, with only three men there. Aegon narrowed his eyes to get a clearer view and saw the familiar red-bearded figure of Weslar Reyne, who hadn't changed much since their last meeting near Harrenhal. What's going on over here?
Aegon was perplexed as to why Weslar Reyne chose this particular sight, as there was little tree cover. He thought that maybe Lord Reyne wanted to meet there because he wanted to reassure the dragons that they were not walking into an ambush, as they could the land for miles around. But whatever brought him there, Aegon and Jaenyx had to hear him out or they would have otherwise wasted their time flying there.
Sliding off from Balerion and Cloudwynd, Aegon and Jaenyx strode toward Weslar Reyne and his two guards. What surprised Aegon was that Lord Reyne was not wearing his armor and his sword was stuck in the dirt. He certainly not leaving much to doubt regarding his intentions.
"Thank you for coming," Weslar Reyne dipped his head. "I hope that I gave you both enough assurances that there are no underplays happening."
"You've got some explaining to do before we proceed," Jaenyx went straight to the point. "Why did you contact us?"
"Ah," Weslar nodded in understanding. "Sabitha told me that you were blunt and that no nonsense can get past you. I respect that. Still don't trust me?"
"Why would he?" Aegon kept his hand on Blackfyre's pommel. "As far as we're concerned, you're one of our enemy's senior commanders."
Weslar Reyne laughed. "If you really think that my position with Loren Lannister is enough to protect me and my family from consequences, you're mistaken."
"Why are you here then?" Jaenyx asked.
Weslar swallowed as he gathered his thoughts. "I should probably place some blame on you, Prince Jaenyx, since you're the one that got my family here, but I know that it would be misplaced."
"I know about your son, Bailen Reyne," Jaenyx eased a little bit.
"The first thing that Loren did was to lock up my son in the darkest cell of Casterly Rock, as if he were a common criminal. He was only doing his duty and he did the best he could with the situation he was given. How would anyone expect a daring raid on Casterly Rock to even have a chance of success, especially with the men you had under your command? One of them killed thirty men before dying," Lord Reyne outlined, but his anger against King Loren showed.
"You mean Arata Haru?" Jaenyx was briefly saddened at the loss of his friend.
"If that is his name. Anyways, a raid on Casterly Rock had never been done before, so if there was to someone to blame, it would be Loren since that was his home. But he found a convenient excuse in my son and only after I threatened him did he move Bailen to more suitable accommodations," Lord Reyne continued.
"Sounds like everything worked out for you," Aegon observed.
"What Loren did was just the latest of many incidents between us, all of which played into his wariness towards me. It's only natural for there be tensions between a king and his most powerful bannerman, but I have rivalries with House Westerling and he was all too willing to support them at the expense of my own lands and people," Lord Reyne explained.
"That's not that different from anything that occurred in normal times. My goodfather Lord Aerion had his own problems to deal with while he was Lord of Dragonstone," Jaenyx pointed out.
"But this is war, Prince Jaenyx, and battle has a tendency to cause existing tensions to flare up beyond what would have been acceptable. He used my son's failure as an excuse to risk my men in the Blackwater Bay, where they saw Gawen Gardener fall." Orys did that, Aegon thought proudly. "And now, he's asking me to hand over more control over my men because he partly blames my captains for Gawen's death."
"That… doesn't sound like the rational man that Loren Lannister was like when we first saw him," Aegon showed his surprise.
"Loren might be a cerebral man, but he's not without his flaws. He likes to play with people's minds too much and he has a… repressed bloodthirst. I once saw him stab a man through the heart because he robbed him, but he kept stabbing him until the blood was spread all over his face," Lord Reyne responded.
"You seem to know him pretty well for a bannerman," Aegon still kept ready in case things went wrong.
"I fostered at Casterly Rock in my younger years, so I have a pretty good understanding of what kind of a man he is."
"Back to why you wanted to talk to us," Jaenyx brought the conversation back on topic.
"Right. So, I recently got word that Loren will put me in charge as Warden of the Eastern Marches, essentially the lands we occupy including Riverrun, meaning that the defense of those lands will be my responsibility. At the same time, he's also expecting me to lead the efforts to retake the riverlands."
"Seems to me that Loren is giving you some key responsibilities, meaning that he at least trusts on some level," Aegon argued.
"Taking the riverlands, with the resources that he gave me? It's an impossible task," Weslar revealed. "There are only eight thousand men under my command, and the only reason why we weren't ejected entirely was because you didn't take Riverrun. There are two reasons why he would put me in that position. First, he expects me to fail and thus giving him more reason to take away more of my authority. Second, and most importantly, we all know that the fighting has shifted to the Reach and to the Vale, with the riverlands mostly quiet. He's keeping me away from the action and thus from all important decision-making. Meanwhile, all of my men will be under his control."
Aegon slowly began to understand. Weslar Reyne never had a good relationship with his king to begin with, but the war only worsened it and now the Lord of Castamere was put in a position that would end in failure either way. He's afraid that if he fails again, Loren will have a good excuse to finally move on Castamere and thus extinguish his family.
"What do you expect us to do about it? As we said before, you're the enemy," Jaenyx reminded him.
"Not unless I offered you something that can help you recover from your most recent setback in the Vale. I hear that your wife's dragon was injured by a bolt the size of a tree?"
Aegon and Jaenyx now paid close attention. "How would you know that?"
Lord Reyne reached into his shirt and pulled out a scroll. "Loren hired a Ghiscari sellsword, loaned to him by the Iron Bank of Braavos, to advise him on how to counter dragons. What I have in my hand is the result of his consultation, which I will happily hand over provided certain conditions be met."
Of course. "All right. What do you want?"
"First, I want a guarantee that my family will be safe from harm and that my actions against you and your family must be judged as acts of coercion by Loren. I'm doing this to protect myself and my own family from retribution," Lord Reyne began with.
"And your second demand?" Jaenyx inquired.
"That you will inform Lord Blackwood of my current position but keep it secret, since he needs to understand that I have no intention of fighting him further."
"I can arrange that," Jaenyx nodded.
"Your third?" Aegon pressed.
"You appointed Lord Blackwood as the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands for his loyalty, and Torrhen Stark as Lord Paramount and Warden of the North for supporting you. To further protect my family, I must have lordship over Loren's kingdom and also take revenge on the slights thrown by House Lannister."
"There are two problems with that. First, you're an enemy commander and my own bannermen might not be pleased that one of their foes was rewarded so richly. Second, even if we did agree to it, you will not have a secure power base," Aegon described.
"Allow me to deal with those two concerns on my own. I just require, at this moment, your agreement," Lord Reyne looked at them with some expectation.
"That will depend on what you have to offer us right now," Jaenyx said.
Lord Reyne sighed before handing over the scroll. Aegon grabbed it and unrolled it, his eyes widening as he and Jaenyx looked at it closely. Before them was a design of a large crossbow capable of hurling a pike-like bolt over a large distance.
"What is this?" Aegon asked.
"It's called a scorpion. It's the weapon that hurt your dragon in the Vale and the one that's currently being supplied to Loren's and Mern's forces after its success in the Vale."
"How many?" Jaenyx asked.
"At this point, only ten. But there might be more in the making."
Aegon looked over the scorpion's design a few more times. Although the concept was simple, it certainly proved effective against Meraxes.
"Will this be enough?"
"Any more demands?" Jaenyx looked back at the Lord of Castamere.
"One final one. A position on your small council when all is said and done," Lord Reyne finished.
"Your third and last demands will depend on a few things. You've given us a great gift in these designs, but you will need to do more if you want to rise that far among us," Aegon stated.
"Such as?" Lord Reyne was not pleased, but he was in no position to argue.
"We'd advise you to accept Loren's appointment, as that would put you close enough to the parts of the riverlands under your control. Once there, we'll find a way to communicate with you in secret and give you instructions. You follow those instructions, do what we require of you, and your request for the higher lordship will be considered," Jaenyx told him. "You will also need to sabotage Loren's defenses at Riverrun and in the riverlands under his control, since we will come to take them eventually. Lastly, we need to know how much men Loren has under his control still, since they can surely plug in the losses the Gardeners suffered."
"I have no problem to meeting those conditions," Lord Reyne agreed.
"Then, we suggest that you go back to wherever you were in the riverlands and await our first message. But remember this. Double-cross us or try to betray us, we will reveal to Loren of what you did and I'm sure that he will have no problem in killing you. One less problematic house to deal with in that instance," Jaenyx warned him.
"Believe me, Prince Jaenyx. If I had any intention of betraying, I would not have put myself and myself in so much risk," Lord Reyne defended himself.
"We'll see about that," Aegon said before he and Jaenyx went back on their dragons and flew back to the Reach, leaving Lord Reyne and his guards to wonder what would await them.
As for Aegon and Jaenyx, they were back at Stonebridge by nightfall and resumed business in their tent. "We have the designs of the weapon, but we have no way of knowing how they might utilize it against us the next time," Jaenyx stated.
"Still, this is one of the most valuable things that we have right now," Aegon recapped. "We now have knowledge of how the enemy plans to counter our dragons. All that is left to do now is to direct Lord Reyne. How he acts will determine what he gets from us."
"He might love his family, but we cannot deny that he's an overreaching bastard," Jaenyx scoffed. "Still, he might prove useful to us in winning this war. After all, it's not every day that a senior enemy commander offers to work for us."
"We'll have to use him wisely, as his position calls for us to re-strategize. We also have to tell Rhae, Vis, Orys, kepa, and muña of what happened with Lord Reyne."
"We use him in the right place at the right time, we'll be able to knock one kingdom out of the war and finally have revenge on Loren," Jaenyx grinned at that prospect.
"Only issue is," Aegon looked at the maps that detailed their current situation. "Given his current location, where and how could he make the most impact towards our victory?"
A/N: Here, we have the first major defection from the Faith's alliance. For those that picked it up, congratulations. I always intended for the Reynes to switch sides and now they're able to avoid being wiped out 300 years early XD
At the same time, Lord Weslar Reyne might have helped the dragons, but he's openly self-serving despite his concerns for his family. Then again, the division between self-interests and family can be blurred at times, which is definitely the case for the Reynes in this story.
With that happening, all that is left to do is for Lord Weslar to make his own impact on the war on behalf of the Valyrians.
Next, we revisit the Vale as they deal with the after-effects of Meraxes' wounds.